Online public participation for March 24 Placer County Board of Supervisors meeting

Published on March 19, 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Placer County is committed to public participation in County Government in a manner that is consistent with guidance provided by the County’s Public Health Officer and Governor Newsom’s Executive Orders.

Placer County has taken the following steps to utilize technology to encourage full but remote public participation during the Board of Supervisor’s meeting on Tuesday, March 24th. These steps are intended to protect everyone, especially those over 65 and those with other medical conditions.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors’ March 24 meeting will be conducted telephonically. It is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The Board chambers will not be open to the public. In compliance with the Governor’s orders on telephonic meetings, the public’s participation will be limited to the following means:

• Citizens who wish to comment may use our call-in line at 530-886-1800 to queue for verbal public comment. Public Comment will be opened for each agenda item in the sequence, so be prepared to call in for the specific item you wish to comment on when the Board Chair opens comments for that item. Calls will not be connected if Public Comment has been closed from that item, and callers will be directed to call back if they are calling for a later agenda item.

• Calls will be answered by the County Operator and transferred into the Board Chambers to be heard in the order in which calls were received for the current item. Please be aware that there is a 30-second delay between our meeting proceedings in Chambers and your view at home. Each commenter is entitled to 3 minutes of comment time, so hold times will be longer if there are many callers. Thank you for your patience as we work to preserve the safety and health of all meeting participants and ensure that each citizen who wishes to comment has the opportunity to do so.

• Alternatively, citizens may submit their comments in written form at the following link: https://www.placer.ca.gov/FormCenter/Clerk-of-the-Board-29/Public-Comment-Submission-157.

• The public may always email comments to the Clerk of the Board [email protected] or mail the same through the U.S. Postal Service to the County, Attn: Clerk of the Board, 175 Fulweiler Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603.

• All public comments received prior to 8 a.m. the day of the meeting will be provided to the Board members electronically or in written format.

• Emails received through the Clerk’s email address above during the meeting become part of the record for the Board meeting and retained by the Clerk.

• The public may always view a live video feed of the meeting online from the comfort/safety of their own home or workplace at www.placer.ca.gov. Closed captioning is available.

• Board meeting agendas are publicly posted for review on the county website at https://www.placer.ca.gov/6322/_2020.

All members of the public are asked to adhere to the above guidelines as well as all guidance by the County Public Health Officer.

These steps are designed to make the Board meeting accessible to everyone in a safe manner. Placer County officials will evaluate these meeting procedures after the March 24th meeting in order to continue to improve our remote public participation process. Please also be patient with us as we adjust to changes in process which are continually being provided by the County’s Public Health Officer and the Governor to further protect the public during the COVID-19 emergency.

“It’s important for Placer County to conduct its business to ensure essential services for our citizens,” said Board Chair Bonnie Gore. “We’re doing everything we can to facilitate social distancing and urge residents to take advantage of other methods to address the board versus attending meetings in person.”

“We hope our citizens understand and take to heart the need to participate remotely,” said CEO Todd Leopold. “This crisis may be part of our landscape for several months and we urge our citizens to adjust while still remaining a vital part of the governing process.”

Placer County is committed to do its part to limit coronavirus spread and has also reduced public counter service until at least March 29, providing online and phone services as alternatives. Essential services such as law enforcement, fire/emergency services, garbage, recycling, water, child protective services and wastewater continue.

Placer County declared a local health emergency and a local emergency March 3 to ensure public health professionals have all necessary tools at their disposal to protect the community from COVID-19. Placer’s ongoing COVID-19 response will continue uninterrupted by the office closure.

For more information on COVID-19 novel coronavirus please visit the Placer County Public Health guidance page.